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FIC: The Blessings of the World are Held in a Kiss [PG-13, 1/1]

Title: The Blessings of the World are Held in a KissAuthor:dmitchell1985Fandom:Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Movie-versePairing: Abraham Lincoln/Henry Sturges/Mary Todd Lincoln/William JohnsonRating: PG-13 – for some violence, references to sex, and kissing.Summary: For all of their differences, Mary’s, Henry’s, and Abraham’s kisses taste like every part of home to William.Word Count: 1,977Disclaimer: I don’t own any part of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.Author’s Notes: I don’t know about you guys, but I am absolutely in love with my OT4. Many thanks to the AL:VH peeps that continue to read my fiction and accept all of my pairings. You make the fandom what it is. ♥! By the way, I used this picture as a guide for how to describe movie!verse Henry’s eyes. This fic, as are all of my fics, is unbeta’d. So, any heads up on errors or con crit is greatly appreciated.

Mary’s kisses taste like sunlight, Will decided as he slowly withdrew from the soft press of Mary’s lips.

He lightly rubbed his nose against hers as he leaned away from his beloved Mary. Will unapologetically stole that unguarded moment, the one just before she opened her eyes, to stare down in wonder at her face. It was odd to him, the relatively calm manner in which he had accepted Mary as part of the package of loving Abraham. It went without thought or lengthy consideration that if he wanted to keep Abraham by his side, he would welcome Mary the way that Henry had welcomed him. Reluctantly, but wholly once his mind was made up about the matter.

He took Mary’s hand and turned toward the sight of Abraham and Henry practically trying to kill one another in the name of sparring. Just this once, he was glad to be seated off to the side with Mary as they enjoyed the subtle play of shadow and sunlight on their skin.

____________

Henry had originally kicked up something of a fuss when Will had strode into town seeking the help of his old friend. He had done the best he could on the Underground Railroad, but even Will could see that he needed help of the legal variety. His time, and that of his charges, was growing short. Should the men after him succeed in collecting the bounty on his head, so too would his life’s work fail to be realized.

And so, he started small. He picked the brains of the housing staff from town to town, asking after an unusually kind fellow by the name of Abraham Lincoln. With each new bit of information, he pieced together a map of where he should start looking first. As the dead ends fell away like the fallen leaves of Autumn, Will could feel himself getting closer to finding the one man he knew could help him.

It had been a chilly night out when Will had invited himself into the store where Abraham was working. He scarcely had eyes for the other young man behind the far reaches of the counter between them; such was the immediate and binding hold of Abraham’s presence.

He could hear himself saying the words, little mocking jabs at Abraham, and he could feel himself smiling through the feigned effort to goad the man. But next none of it registered. Their eyes met and Will knew that he had come to the right place, that this was the friend he had searched tirelessly for; the one that would set him free by any legal means necessary.

It had started with that scuffle in the streets to deliver them right back where they left off, and a mere hour in the jail cell for Abraham to catch Will staring at him open-mouthed. His friend had laughed it off and told him about Mary. And, Henry. And how, some way, they’d managed to form the oddest relationship Will had ever encountered.

He couldn’t imagine any woman willingly sharing her would-be husband with anyone, let alone a man that she knew almost nothing about. Still, the longer that Abraham spoke of their love and Mary’s kind heart, he saw just how a rare a gem Abraham had managed to discover by little more than meddling and chance. And there, in the furthest part of Will’s mind, began the almost unrecognizable stirrings or what he would come to know to be longing . . . and the faint echo of jealousy.

Will sorely wanted what they had created together with a desperation that shocked even him. It was just not done, three and four or more people to one relationship, one bed. Nevertheless, in spite of himself and everything he knew about this world, he found that he didn’t have the slightest problem with it at all.

It took hardly any time at all for Mary to round up the cavalry and rescue their sorry behinds from their cell. It took even less time for her connections to sweep away the charges against them and have their belongings returned to their persons.

From the moment Will laid eyes on her, he surrendered any notion of jealousy. It would be pointless to fight his fate where Mary was concerned; for he was already lost.

____________

Henry’s kisses taste like the earth and a punch to the jaw, Will thought later on in a daze.

Or, that could have just been Will’s jaw still smarting from the right hook Henry greeted Will with when Mary and Abraham brought him back to Henry’s place.

For all of Will’s confusion and the ringing in his head, he understood key words and phrases, such as ‘him!’ and ‘dammit!’ and ‘damn you!’ Between the throbs of his head, Will managed to make out bits and pieces of the fight that followed.

“How could you bring him here, Abraham?!” Henry shouted around the sound of him breaking glass. “I expected more of you, Mary!”

More bottles fell prey to Henry’s temper.

With a hand to his cheek, Will used his free hand to feel along the floor until he found the baseboards. He used those to guide him up the wall to lean heavily against the only thing that was easing the spinning in his head. He wasn’t sure what he expected from Abraham’s friend Henry, but a cheap shot definitely hadn’t been it. He expected perhaps resistance over the fact that he was a Negro or yet another complication to their unusual arrangement, but not outright rage and jealousy that left his head spinning.

Through the haze, there were raised voices and pleas of entreaty. There was the rise and fall of three sides of an argument presenting themselves to be heard, to be parried, and to be blocked. And then, there was a mere heartbeat of silence before the explosion from Henry and the stomping of boots on wooden floors.

“I want him out!” Henry hissed somewhere close by.

Will forced his eyes open and was met face to face with his attacker. Blue veins protruded from Henry’s forehead and neck. And there was something not quite right about Henry’s eyes. It was as though they were clouded over by cataracts, even though Will knew they’d been clear only minutes before.

Will pushed himself along the wall and away from the angry face before him. He could fight, but what good would it do? He couldn’t find a single reason why he should impose his presence upon someone that obviously did not want it there.

An unyielding, white hand blocked his path. Its matching brethren cut off Will’s means of retreat. Slowly, deliberately, the hands crept closer to either side of Will’s face, forcing him to meet Henry’s eyes. They looked determined, but resigned to their fate. They were also, Will gladly noted, no longer cloudy. Henry’s eyes were the most intriguing shade of dark brown that faded out to an unassuming shade of gold that Will had ever set his sight upon.

And, they were moving closer to him with no sign of stopping.

He panicked then, because this could a trick or yet another unwarranted attack. He held still and pressed himself back against the wall until he could go no further. Will felt certain that his heart might admit defeat at any moment and refuse to pump another ounce of blood through his veins.

“There’s no need to look like I’m going to rip your face off.” Henry chuckled low in his throat, all the while crowding Will’s personal space.

Will swallowed the dry lump in his throat and tried to find his voice.

“I didn’t expect you to punch me in the jaw and look where that got me,” he replied evenly, his eyes never leaving Henry’s.

Henry laughed again like Will had mentioned an age-old funny trifle that no longer held any weight amongst the present day.

A slight wave of his hand and then he spoke again, “An error on my part. I do admit that I reacted much too quickly.”

He gave a half-glance over his shoulder at Abraham and Mary standing together holding hands and Henry continued, “But my friends have been kind enough to explain the situation. They have explained that I will have the final say, one way or the other.”

Will started to question what exactly Henry would be deciding when he felt the wisps of cold air ghost over his lips. Henry’s face, that had been undeterred in its path, finally reached its destination and Henry’s lips neatly closed over Will’s own. His surprise was evident in every inch of his body. As blindsided as Will had been by the punch, the kiss knocked his senses out of focus just as quickly.

Henry’s lips were cold to the touch and as inescapable as a cave-in. There is no hope for flight once Henry’s arms closed around Will in a circle of unmovable ice. Curiously, Will found that he didn’t want to escape in the least. Part of his mind wanted to demand an explanation for the way he had been treated, but most of him wanted to enjoy the kiss while it lasted.

Oh-so-slowly, Will felt the insistent push of a knee parting his thighs.

____________

Abraham’s kisses are somewhere in-between. They are the light of life and as grounded as the trunks of the trees he hacks to pieces.

Will couldn’t help but think as much as he reclined beside Mary on the blanket with her hand still nestled in his. They both cheered wildly as they watched Henry and Abraham take turns throwing Abraham’s axe between them. They looked on in heart-stopping awe as Abraham smashed through tree after tree, felling more lumber in a span of minutes than most lumberjacks collected all day. All thanks, it seemed, to Henry’s influence.

He and Mary smiled as their boys tossed the axe aside to make their way over to the quiet shade. Will swore that he could see every bead of sweat dripping from Abraham’s body to soak through his clothes. It was as though Abraham’s body was trying to compensate for the perspiration that Henry’s skin lacked.

Henry reverently dropped to his knees before Mary and took her face in his hands. He brought their lips together in a familiarity that comforted Will to look on and bear witness to the love they shared. In his moment of inattention, Abraham bent forward and soundlessly took Will’s hands into his own. He pulled Will to his feet and walked him backwards to a tree not far from their shared blanket.

The sight of Henry easing the buttons of Mary’s dress open and sliding the fabric from her shoulders was cut short by Abraham leaning down to kiss him. All of the day’s exertions were formed into the warm touch of Abraham’s lips. His frustration over the inability of his body to fully contend with that of Henry’s lingered in the way Abraham’s fingers pulled at the seams of Will’s shirt. His pride and excitement at having he and Mary watch him spar despite his imagined failings was equally present in the firm grip of Abraham’s palm around the side of Will’s face.

Will sighed longingly into the kiss. He always hoped for more, but took whatever he was offered, and rarely took what he needed. But in the end, it made him happy just to reside in the circle of their arms, whichever arms presented themselves to his immediate aid.

No sooner did he feel the stirrings of interest from between his thighs, did he feel Abraham’s hand cup him through his trousers. Will idly pondered the fact that this day might just turn out even better than he imagined.

And then, he thought no more for the rest of the afternoon.

____________

Author’s Note 2: Yes, I know that my OT4 fics don’t follow the movie canon directly, but are more of a what could have been.